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Local plumbers have offered to deliver essentials to elderly islanders after discovering a customer had to walk over a mile to find some toilet roll, after panic-buying emptied the shelves of her local shop.
Charlie Franks of MyPlumber.Je and his employees will be delivering items for free throughout the day as they drive between clients.
Mr Franks said the idea came to him on Friday while he was carrying out work at an elderly woman’s home.
“She said she needed her essentials, but they were all sold out, so she had to go through three different shops with her trolley. The journey is a mile longer than her normal route.
“I just went in the van and got her bits. It got us thinking that, since we are out on the road all day long, we can help deliver a few things on the way to jobs.”
Mr Franks shared his idea on his business Facebook page, writing: “There must be a few vulnerable people on the island that probably can’t get to shops for the essentials or they are limited to what shops they can go to without transport etc…”
He urged islanders to get in touch about "anyone of concern", saying everyone on his team was willing to help fit in a few deliveries throughout their day.
With three employees in the company, Mr Franks says his team reaches around 18 homes on average each day. “It’s not about earning money, it’s about helping each other out,” he said.
He said he had been blown away by the response to the post, adding that one of the company’s clients donated 16 toilet rolls for them to distribute to “vulnerable people” in the island.
Two of those rolls went to an elderly couple who have been self-isolating and asked Mr Franks if he could bring them their newspapers.
“Everyone is chipping in. I have seen other businesses doing the same thing. Everyone is looking out for each other," Mr Franks said.
“I think as the situation gets worse, more people will chip in.”
It comes as supermarkets have teamed up with the Jersey Consumer Council to warn against panic-buying and how it hits the island's most vulnerable hardest.
Mr Franks says this latest initiative just an “add-on” to his team's usual activities. “We already do free work for old-age pensioners,” he explained. “This is just an add-on. It does not cost us a penny. We are not looking for awards for this, it is just something little that will change people’s lives.
“I have a granny too and I like to think people would do the same for her!”
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